Out Of Sync
by Zephyr Fuchsia
Summary: Life was simple for Lewis. Sure, most of the food he ate had to be stolen with the help of his Pokemon, and he never really got the chance to put down roots for too long - mostly because of this first fact. But when he meets a girl being chased by a tastelessly sinister group of crooks, and the Pokemon Storage System goes offline, his life becomes much more complicated in a flash.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The world is a big place. Essentially, it's a collection of big places that are glued together or float amongst each other. Landmasses can contain numerous regions, and the ocean is full of these continents. Each one contains enough tangled space full of forests, mountains, islands, deserts, grasslands and decreasingly smaller versions of cities, towns, and villages to get lost, find yourself again, and then get lost again every day of the week for a lifetime. That, of course, happens more to folks with itchy feet that can't stay in one place for too long. That's the world.

Matters are more complicated when one accounts for the surrounding layers of intangible planes, dimensions, and satellite gray space which solely exists either in the human mind or through human invention. Some of that stuff is debatable and the subject to a lot of human squabble, while the rest is unquestionably real. It's just very hard to get there and see it, if one wanted to. When it comes to the space that was created by mankind, the digital gobbledygook and quantum hoo-ha floating in and around the great landmasses of the planet, there are machines that can link to and access the alternate world which was set up a long time ago, through blinking bright interfaces and a few keystrokes. Thus the world is a bigger place than the naked eye can see.

Lewis found time and time again that the world seems much smaller when one is running for their life. Going faster results in more ground covered, and less time spent getting lost and finding oneself again within a day. Lewis was the type to get itchy feet, and rarely was in the same forest, city, mountain, or village for long. He often claimed that this wasn't so much his fault as the fault of the entity chasing him away from wherever he had last stopped. The entity, if capable of speech, would probably first adorn Lewis with several nasty titles and epithets, but eventually they would point out whatever object that Lewis had stolen, broken, set fire to, desecrated, drawn an unflattering mustache on, or his attempt at any of this and more. If not capable of speech, the entity would roar, stomp on the ground a bit, froth from the mouth, and then run for local government. If their campaign was anti-Lewis, they would likely get elected, whether they were a human being or a Pokémon.

Needless to say, the amount of civilized space which Lewis was able to slink through tended to be very limited if he didn't move very quickly, thus his current predicament.

The man chasing him was named Brown. He was frothing and quite mad and was hurling very rotten language at the retreating backside of Lewis, but was only a rancher. The Tauros he was riding, bareback, was decidedly calmer despite the hulking man on its back kicking it in the flank. It groaned to let its rider know that it meant to do anything it asked, including riding down the young man on the path ahead, but would prefer it if said rider stopped kicking and tugging its horns.

Brown ignored the low protest, his bloodshot eyes piercing into the backside of Lewis. "You varmint! You darn robbin' pest! I'll run you right down, you hear me! I'm coming for you!" It is important to note of Brown's appearance that he was covered in mud and the unmentionables of his own Tauros, allowing him to live up to his name. Also noteworthy was the fact that he was rapidly gaining on Lewis.

If Lewis would have needed to state his case before a police officer—which was a scenario he rehearsed in his head nearly on a daily basis—he would have said that Brown was overreacting, that he only had meant to take a few steaks and had the best intentions to pay the rancher back for them. He had, at the time of fleeing, eight steaks wrapped in butcher paper stuffed in his backpack, which was bouncing along on his back as his feet pumped, carrying him to the woods where he could lose Brown. The fact that much of Brown's herd had stampeded and destroyed a large section of their pasture's fencing was a complete accident, Lewis would claim. If Brown hadn't chased him around the ranch with a pitchfork, jumping over troughs and slumbering Miltanks, agitating his herd of cattle Pokémon and eventually tripping right into a big pile of dung, his Tauros wouldn't be tearing through the nearby town causing who knows what manner of devastation. The trip did, however, buy Lewis enough time to get a decent head start away from it all, but that was getting slowly devoured by the Tauros' hooves.

Lingering ahead of him was the tree line, spreading out with boughs of welcoming arms and offering brambly bushes and lifted roots to trip up less agile persons. Before that though, Brown had mowed a long green stretch of pasture leading up to a dirty little stream. Lewis pumped his knees to reach it, but the thunder of hooves behind him was catching up. With it came the maniacal banter of Brown, which was now an unintelligible garble. This frightened Lewis more than the intelligible things Brown had to say.

Lewis reached down to his belt and plucked off one of the red and white spheres clipped on there. He pressed a button on the front of the pokeball and aimed it ahead of him.

"Krokorok, help!" he said.

The pokeball opened up and a beam of light flew out to touch the grass ten yards ahead of him. The light formed into a reptilian creature standing on its hind legs. It was tan, with dark banding from its snout down to its tail and a light colored stomach. It crossed its arms in front of it and made an irritable growl as Lewis darted past.

"Sandstorm, Krokorok!"

The Krokorok tilted its head at the charging Tauros, which was now about as far away from it as it was from Lewis—not very far at all. The reptilian Pokémon leaped back, raising its clawed hands up, and from out of the ground the dust of the earth rose and swirled around it, cascading all around the Tauros and its rider, both of whom screamed and thrashed in the sandstorm. Krokorok nodded to itself, and then high-tailed it to where Lewis was waiting, aside the muddy stream.

"Nice work, Krokorok. That should slow them down." Lewis aimed the pokeball again and Krokorok became a mass of light once more, which was sucked inside of the pokeball. Lewis attached it to his belt again, and jumped over the stream.

"Not so fast, you maggot!" Brown was charging at him on foot now. His Tauros was running around in circles, bellowing within the sandstorm. "You're gonna pay for all you did, you runt. Go, Stantler!" Then Lewis saw that Brown had a pokeball in his hand as well, and that it had opened and a light was rushing out of it at him and then he turned to run.

Brown cried out instructions to run Lewis down, which Lewis noted to himself as he began leaping over brambly bushes and skirting raised roots, sometimes switching these things up. He ran for a few minutes, deeper and deeper into the woods and finally stopped behind a tree, panting, his head hanging. A couple of Spearows fluttered away, squawking unpleasantries at him. He reached for another of his pokeballs and called out its inhabitant. "Grovyle, I need some help."

The beam of light from this pokeball became another reptilian Pokémon, a slender green lizard with a red underbelly and golden eyes. At its wrists and tail were a bunch of leafy protrusions, with one long blade flowing from the top of its head. It stared at Lewis, its face fixed into a smirk. Lewis was fairly sure that Grovyle's expression never changed.

"Okay, here's the scoop," said Lewis between breaths. "Nasty guy chasing me. Using Pokémon to chase me. A Stantler, I think. Need you to trip it up. Pokémon, not the guy. The guy too, actually, if you can. Wait here, it'll show up. Okay?"

Grovyle nodded once, and leaped into the branches of the trees. That's when Lewis heard hoofsteps again, coming for him. He made to take off in one direction, but it sounded like the hooves were coming from that way. He spun around and made to go the way he'd come, but again, the thumping sounds came from that direction. He made as if to go in two other directions, plus one which he'd already made a start on, but the sound was all around him.

"Grovyle, where is it?" There was no answer.

Lewis grabbed another pokeball and called out another Pokémon. It was Furret, a slinky furry brown thing which bounded around in the undergrowth before curling around Lewis' ankle, staring up at Lewis with gleeful black eyes.

"Furret, get ready to attack. That means get out there and look menacing. No, don't look at me, they're coming through the trees."

The hooves sounded nearer and nearer, growing in volume until it sounded like a whole herd of the creatures was about to close in on Lewis. Then, from behind a single tree, the Stantler appeared, and the thundering sound diminished. Brown appeared just behind it, a big grin plastered on his face.

"Well, now. Guess you're not so smart as you probably think you are, kid. Stantler's confuse ray give you any problems?"

The Stantler, a lithe, four legged creature with a pair of antlers like special antennae, regarded Lewis, then the Furret curled around Lewis' ankles. Sunlight dappled the fur on Stantler's back. Furret squealed and hid behind its owner's shoe.

"What is that, a challenge?" said Brown. "That little thing's right terrified out of its mind."

"Shows what you know," said Lewis. "He's just charging his power. Come any closer and you'll be in a world of hurt."

"Ooh! A world of hurt, huh?" Brown took a few steps closer. Stantler did the same, lowering its head menacingly. "Hope your bags are packed, cause I'm about to put you on a rocket ship straight to that world."

A green flash shot out of the bushes and collided into Stantler's side. Brown grunted as another green blur whipped his feet out from under him and he fell into a bush. Grovyle leaped over to Lewis to face off the challengers, still smirking.

Brown scrambled to his hands and knees in a black rage. "Two against one, huh? You're not no trainer, you little punk. You're breaking the rules!"

"You're right, I'm not no trainer. So the rules don't apply to me, do they?"

Brown glowered and growled as the Stantler found its footing again. "Take them down," he said.

Stantler dashed forward. Its antlers seemed to vibrate just slightly, enough that staring at the brown Pokémon made Lewis' eyes water. He took a step back as Grovyle attacked once again, meeting its opponent. One of the antlers connected and Grovyle flew back with a low hiss, landing in the dirt. It got up on its feet as the Stantler came down again, just barely missing Grovyle this time.

"Grovyle, use absorb, get your strength back!"

Grovyle did so, holding out its arms as it dodged another attack. A green haze grew around Stantler, which shuddered as the haze transferred over to Grovyle.

"Stantler, hypnosis!" yelled Brown.

"Dodge it, Grovyle!"

The grass type Pokémon jumped into a low branch as Stantler's antlers began to vibrate again, their symmetrical points aimed at the other Pokémon. Grovyle darted around for a moment within the trees, until it flew down at the challenger and struck it with the blade of grass on its head, breaking the spell.

"Furret, now's your chance!" said Lewis. He pointed a command at the fuzzy Pokémon cowering at his feet. "Wrap up its legs and trip it, hurry!"

"Don't you dare!" said Brown. However, he didn't make any other move to put a stop to it, meaning he was going to play according the rules, or he was plum out of Pokémon.

Furret crept up to where Grovyle and Stantler were now trading blows. They were both wearing each other down, it seemed. Furret slunk up to the stamping hooves of Stantler, and tackled the larger creature. Stantler took one look down at the Furret. Its eyes were wholly dispassionate as it brought a hoof up, and slammed it down again on the little things back, stomping it. Furret squeaked and went limp.

"Furret, no!" said Lewis. "Return, return!" He held out his pokeball and pulled the broken creature out of the battle.

"Something went wrong, it looks like," said Brown.

"Grovyle, finish it!"

Grovyle ducked under a swipe of antlers, dodged a fierce kick of hooves, slipped under the Stantler's belly and slashed with the leaves on its wrists, which went so fast they could have been knives. The Stantler backed off, cringing, and bumped into a tree. It made a low cry somewhere between a shriek and a bellow, and then collapsed.

"Stantler, no!" Brown rushed over to the fallen beast. "That filthy maggot… Lewis!"

Lewis had taken this opportunity to retreat. He ran through the woods as fast as he could, with his Grovyle keeping up with him in the tree tops.

"That was a cheap move, Lewis! You hear me? You are a dirty lying thieving cheater!" Brown let out a loose rage of obscenities before putting the Stantler back in its pokeball and trudging back to his farm in defeat.

Had Lewis' battle with Brown had any witnesses, Lewis likely would have been carted off somewhere official looking to have his Pokémon taken away. This was on the condition that they caught up with him first, and didn't charge him for a long list of other petty crimes first. Regulation Pokémon trainer matches require an even number of Pokémon on both sides, at least to start with. Lewis would likely claim that the number had in fact been even to begin with; Brown's Tauros and Stantler against his Krokorok and Furret. It's possible he could have gotten away with the argument, but not likely. In which case, he would tell whoever the acting authority was that he wasn't a Pokémon trainer at all. This could go either way for him as well.

What would really tip the scales against him was the way in which his Furret was utilized. Throwing out a Pokémon—which is, after all, a living creature with feelings and blood and some people would even say a soul—only as a quick distraction to allow it to get pulverized was certainly unethical on top of all the other tactics Lewis employed.

These sorts of thoughts flew unbidden like flies around the dumpster of Lewis' mind. He would have swatted at them, but could only do so mentally. Chief among these thoughts was the fact that he was now in the middle of the wilderness and he had to reach a Pokémon Center to heal his Furret. Accompanying this was the idea to just leave the creature in the wilderness, though this was swatted away; Furret was simply not a battle ready Pokémon. It was much better used in reconnaissance of a store, distracting the owner while Lewis plucked out some bit of merchandise he required but didn't have money to pay for, and squirreling away goodies which it gained by giving good hearted people big said eyes. Lewis knew that catching and training another Pokémon to do all of this was a bit beyond his patience. He was fifteen, just on the cusp of sixteen, and the hours required to train a Pokémon were time he needed to ramble, steal, and cause any other mischief which might do him some manner of good and someone else misfortune.

Presently he found a path that would take him to the nearest city. To his knowledge, that would be Olivine City, some ten miles south of him. With his Pokémon tucked in their pokeballs, he squared his shoulders to settle his backpack, cracked his neck, lifted his foot to take his first step on the journey, and was startled by the shriek of a girl somewhere behind him, sending him whirling around.

The road rose over a small hill behind him. He stepped off into a ditch, shrouded by cattails, and waited. Sure enough, a girl about his age came running over the hill in a great hurry. She was wearing a colorful dress of multiple patterns seemingly sewed together in patches, to create a not unpleasing effect. An equally colorful shawl trailed behind her as she ran past where Lewis hid, her brown boots kicking up dust behind her. She jingled with each step, and Lewis saw the gleam of bells tied into her hair, among tassels and ribbons of different colors. She was red in the face, apparently having been running for quite some time.

"You come back here, girl!" Lewis thought that Brown had found another victim, until he saw two men storm the brow of the hill and beat tracks after the girl. They were wearing identical uniforms of a drab shade of indigo with gray belts, boots, and hats.

Lewis waited, watching, until the entire party had moved on and the dust had settled. He then came out of the ditch and continued on his way in the direction the girl and the men had run.

An hour later the sun was preparing to settle down on the western horizon. Lewis looked out at it, feeling its fleeting rays fall on his face. The road was empty of travelers by then. He kept an eye out for the girl and the men pursuing her, but it seemed that they were long gone. Half an hour later, in the midst of dusk, he saw a part of the bushes along the road where someone or something had crashed through them. The dirt path he was on met up along the paved roadway that connected Olivine and Ecruteak city. Route 39

He inspected the road and found that two sets of tracks ran ahead to meet up with route 39. Three sets of tracks came before the part of the bushes that had been disturbed. He carefully moved aside a branch between the bushes. Then, he was on his back, groaning.

"Don't come any closer! I don't want to hurt you, but you're giving me no choice!"

Lewis tried to respond, but only got so far as "Wuthg?" which doesn't really mean anything unless you've been smacked in the face with what may have been a tentacle, in which case it means "Was that a tentacle that just hit me or am I imagining things? In fact, don't answer the question since you probably don't understand, and I'm sure that the answer, since I'm on my back and am incapable of proper communication, lies along the lines of the first possibility."

The bushes moved aside and out popped a blue little snakelike Pokémon. It had large black eyes, a bulbous snout, and small fins where ears ought to be. It peered at him with a curious expression, which seemed to be the default for it.

"Dratini, come back! Don't get any closer to him!" The bushes moved aside again and a girl's face looked out. She saw Lewis lying on his back, and then her expression changed from outright fear to something resembling fear, but mixed with shocked concern. "Oh… oh, no, Dratini!"

Lewis soon found himself sitting up. He shook his head, which always seems like a good idea when you've been given a quick knock on it, but really only shakes things up even further. The action did give Lewis time to pull up the right words for the situation. "What the heck was that for?"

The girl emerged from the bushes all the way, looking down at him. The Dratini slithered up alongside her feet. Lewis saw two of everything for a moment, and then finally the images combined into one, and he saw that it was the girl that he'd run past earlier. She was holding out her hand, and Lewis took it, and soon was on his feet.

"I'm so, so sorry about that… I had told Dratini to stand guard in case anyone came by. She can be… she can be protective of me, very protective."

"Uh huh. Guess it's my fault for sticking my face where it doesn't belong. You're hiding from someone?"

"Well, I was trying to heal my Pokémon. I was in a battle earlier and it was injured."

"Couldn't wait for the Pokémon Center?"

"And, I was hiding from someone, yes."

"Those bozos in the weird outfits?"

The girl nearly jumped back into the bushes. "Where are they?"

"Relax, so far your cover's only been blown by me. What's the deal with them?"

"Where did they go?"

"Uh, as far as I know, they're still running all the way to Olivine…"

"You saw them chasing me." Her stare made up for the fact that she held off on the obvious accusations that accompanied her realization. Lewis felt his cheeks swelter under her brown eyes.

"Yeah, alright, I did. Look, I came after you because I wanted to make sure they didn't catch you, you know? What did you do to them, anyway, refuse to pay up after they beat you in battle?"

"Of course not! And they didn't challenge me to battle."

"Right, I figured. I've seen the look those guys had on their faces. You take something from them?"

The girl paled. "Heavens! Of course not!"

Lewis held back a snicker as he brushed off his jeans. "Hah, yeah, I guess not. 'Heavens to Betsy, Ah'd neva do such a thang!'"

"If you have to know, those guys were part of Virus. They're Pokémon thieves, and they do nasty things to people that get in their way."

"Oh, brother. Everyone wants to be the next Team Rocket. Well, I'm glad that they didn't hurt a hair on your pretty little head, regardless. I have to be going now." Lewis turned away without another word. The girl made a noise that might have been the beginnings of a retort, but decided not to waste it on Lewis, and so fell quiet.

As he approached the intersection onto route 39, he saw something that made him want to take his shoe, boil it, serve it up with spaghetti sauce, and drop it over the side of the nearest bridge. The two men in indigo uniforms were coming toward him from the direction he was planning on going. They seemed a bit frazzled; their uniforms were rumpled, their boots dirty, and a boiling rage festered in their eyes, which prowled the sides of the route like hungry predators. Lewis stood where he was on the side of the dirt road, bit his tongue a few times, and then turned around back to the line of bushes.

The girl was still there. She appeared to be tying a length of ribbon into her chestnut hair. She noticed Lewis, and then quickly acted like she didn't notice him.

"Are you going to have your Pokémon hit me again?" he asked.

"Do you plan on being an even bigger idiot?"

"Actually, no. That's why I'm here. We need to get off the road."

She regarded him then. There was a measure of suspicion that made Lewis' skin crawl, knowing that he was about to actually help her. "Why?"

"Your friends are coming back, and if they looked mad before, they're two steps past that now."

The girl dashed back into the bushes without another word. Her Dratini followed. Lewis held in a groan and looked back to the road. One of the guys was visible, but hadn't appeared to notice Lewis yet. Lewis slipped against the bush and pulled out one of his pokeballs.

"Okay Sneasel, you're up." The light from this pokeball coalesced into a night-colored bipedal creature with long red ears and two long fingers that ended in sharp hooks. It regarded Lewis frostily, but that was only because it was an ice type. It may have also been because it was a dark type.

"Icy wind. Slow them down for us," said Lewis.

Sneasel made a shrill purring hum, and crept up to where the two men stood, now conversing with one another, still looking very angry. It froze—which actually isn't meant to be a pun—and concentrated, until the two men started shivering. They looked around as a faint blue mist began to swirl around them, ice particles striking their exposed faces. One of them pointed at the Sneasel and shouted. The other saw Lewis and also shouted.

"Sneasel, we're gone!" said Lewis. He jumped into the bushes and ran right into the girl, both of them falling over.

"Is this your idea of getting back at me?" she said.

"What are you still doing here!" said Lewis. He was on his feet and helping the girl onto hers in a flash. Her Dratini was wrapped around her shoulders. "Let's go, go! They're coming!"

"We can't just leave, your Pokémon is out there!"

"For crying out loud, he'll be fine! Come _on_!"

He took the girl by the hand and launched the two of them into the woods. She made sounds of protest while he guided her on a winding path between trees, brambles, and a sense of déjà vu dawned on Lewis as he finally stopped under a big tree, panting.

The girl appeared to be just fine, breathing wise. "How could you leave your Pokémon behind like that? What if those Virus agents hurt it!"

"You're welcome," managed Lewis.

"I'm serious, for a Pokémon trainer you really don't seem to care at all about your Pokémon. Didn't you hear what I said before, they'll steal it and you'll never see your Sneasel again!"

"Luckily, I'm not a Pokémon trainer. And Sneasel is used to this kind of strategy, see? I run away, he covers my tracks, he catches up with me later. Nothing to worry about."

The girl stared at him. Lewis wasn't sure if he was getting used to it or getting sick of it. "You're awful."

"And you're… well, you're not in the hands of those crazy guys. Still not going to tell me why they're after you so bad?"

"I won't. But, you did try to help me this time…"

"Exactly. Glad to get some recognition."

"Why?"

Lewis wiped his hands over his face. It was sweaty. He chewed on his tongue while trying to come up with a good answer, but was spared by Sneasel crashing through the trees and skidding to a halt next to Lewis. It tapped on Lewis with its claws, making a frightened squall.

"Well, guess it's time to move," said Lewis. "Do you plan on coming or want to stay here in the woods?"

The girl crossed her arms. "I'd love to see you get us out of this, to be honest. We're in the middle of the woods, and I take it those guys are chasing us now?"

"Slowed down, thanks to Sneasel. Right Sneasel?" Sneasel gave Lewis another chilly regard. Lewis put Sneasel back in its pokeball.

"Oh, please. If you get us out of here, I'll heal your Pokémon myself for a year.

"Sounds like a deal, as long as you can be quiet for a year."

The girl made angry sounds as Lewis pulled out another pokeball. "Noibat, this one's your game. Show us the way out of the dark, scary woods." The light from this pokeball became a fluttering bat with a dark body and lavender wings and head. It had big saucer shaped ears which twitched side to side as it gathered its surroundings.

"Oh, but you're not a trainer, right?" said the girl.

Lewis ignored her. "Noibat, take us to Olivine city. South. Uh, that way. And avoid the guys following us, right?" The creature fluttered around in all directions before heading in the way it was directed, twisting and winding around trees.

"That thing is going to lead us right to Virus headquarters," said the girl.

"Are you coming or not?" said Lewis. He followed the Pokémon. The girl finally did the same, picking her way over brambles and roots.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lewis leaned against a tree, his Noibat on his shoulder preening itself. He was staring at the girl, who was sitting nearby, her knees drawn up to her chest, rocking side to side. Lewis had internally prepared himself for a constant barrage of complaints which never came, and it was perturbing him. Not a peep about getting the hem of her dress torn, not a word about her hair caught in branches, nothing at all about her boot sinking into a spot of mud which they, wordlessly, yanked it free from. The girl had barely said anything since they had evaded the two Virus goons until she asked if they should take a break, and now she actually seemed relaxed. The setting sun was slipping through the branches and alighted on her face. Lewis looked away from her.

"We'll reach Olivine in about twenty minutes," he said.

"You think so?"

"I'm beginning to smell the salt in the air."

"I just checked my pokegear, but that works too."

"I don't have the map card."

She was looking at him. He mustered his will and gave her a look. His Noibat made a yawning sound.

"If you're not a trainer, then what are you?" she said.

"A loser."

"Yeah."

They looked away from each other. Lewis felt his feet itching.

"What about you?" he said.

"Hmm?"

"Are you a trainer?"

"Oh, no. Well, not exactly. I guess you can say I train my Pokémon, but I don't participate in battles if I can help it. I'm training to be a healer."

"So, you're going to work at a Pokémon Center?"

"Not a nurse, a healer. And yes, there is a difference. I'm training my Pokémon to help other Pokémon out in the field, so that after a battle or if they get hurt and they're too far away from a Pokémon Center, I can, you know, stabilize them."

Lewis said, "I didn't think there was a great need for that kind of thing."

"No comment," said the girl.

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm a survivor, okay? Therefore, so are my Pokémon. It's not my business if someone can't take care of theirs."

"So I can see."

Lewis sunk to the forest floor and thumped his head against the tree trunk. His Noibat fluttered into his lap.

"I'm Janet, by the way," she said.

"Lewis."

Janet smiled at him. "Now that you're comfortable, perhaps we should keep moving?"

"Very funny. Hey, actually, I wonder if you can prove it."

"Prove…?"

"That you're a healer, or whatever. I mean, you know already that I'm a jerk, so I am who I say I am. But no offense, those weird guys were chasing you for some reason. I just want to see if your cover story checks out."

"Well, you certainly are ready to confirm your chosen profession." She looked at him, her mouth pulled sideways as if she were chewing the inside of her cheek. Lewis tried to square his shoulders, but realized he was holding his breath in and that his shoulders were too skinny to really square. At length she nodded, "And so am I. You have an injured Pokémon I take it, mister survival?"

"Only one, nurse." He retrieved his Furret and popped him out onto the mat of leaves between them. It cringed, curled up in a fuzzy ball, and wheezed.

Janet's frowned as she looked at the creature. She came closer, looming over it, finally laying her fingers on it. Furret cringed again, shaking. She looked at Lewis and he saw a familiar face in hers, the look of someone who's been pained or put at discomfort due to one of his antics. Usually he would shrug off that kind of look, since it came after he'd gotten whatever it was he wanted, but this time he shrunk under it, a cold rage coiling within him.

"It's not like I threw it off a cliff," he snapped.

"What happened?"

"I got in a battle with a wild Stantler. It stomped him."

Janet turned her attention back to Furret. She stared at it for a good couple minutes, otherwise motionless.

"This happens all the time, to regular Pokémon trainers," said Lewis. "It's just something that happens, that's why there are Pokémon centers."

"You're right. I'm sorry if it seemed like I jumped to conclusions." She began digging in her deep purse, pulling out assorted vials, baggies, and tiny jars.

Lewis looked away, his mind still working to come up with excuses that he apparently didn't even need now. He plucked leaves off the ground and crumbled them in his hands.

Janet produced two pokeballs and opened them. The first one produced Aromatisse, a pink and purple vaguely birdlike Pokémon with big red eyes that smelled like way too much perfume. From the other came a white feline shaped Pokémon with blue fur on its head, hands, feet, and the base of its two tails.

Janet addressed the second one. "Meowstic, remember how we practiced. Aromatisse, please use your aromatherapy on the Furret here." The Meowstic positioned itself among the little jars and other things Janet had pulled from her purse, while the Aromatisse flapped its arms, making a faint green powder float into the air around Furret. It smelled like pine sap and rancid melons.

Lewis looked in the direction of the setting sun while Janet worked. She would call on her Meowstic to hand her a spoonful of some fungus and a pinch of some weird jelly which she would crush within a mortar and pestle to make a paste, which she either fed to Furret or applied to its wound. She did this several times over the course of twenty minutes. Lewis zoned out.

When he looked again, his Furret was standing on its back feet, seemingly inspecting itself, twisting and turning its long slinky body about to see the extent of its damages. It must have been satisfied, as it jumped into Janet's arms and licked her face while she giggled. Her Pokémon made happy little sounds. Lewis felt his stomach turn.

Furret returned to Lewis and looked at him with his beady little plush doll's eyes, cocking his head from side to side. Lewis pet him once, then returned Furret to its pokeball. "Nice job," he said.

"You're welcome Lewis," said Janet. She was all smiles as she packed up her things. Sweat stood out on her forehead.

"So… do I owe you something for that?"

"No more than you'd owe the nurse at the Pokémon center. Healing Pokémon is something we do for free, because we know that without Pokémon, well, we probably wouldn't make it."

"That breaks my heart, but we should probably keep moving if we want to be out of the woods by dark."

"Oh? Afraid of the dark?" Her grin was just a little too big for Lewis' liking.

"You're the one that's on the run, remember."

"Somehow I doubt that I'm not the only one."

"No comment." Lewis stood and made his way through the forest again, Noibat fluttering around his head until Lewis hastily pointed the direction he wanted to go. He had hoped to hear Janet squawk about waiting for her, but was disappointed when she had caught up to him in moments.

They walked in silence for a while again, until Janet began humming. Lewis waited as he worked up the nerve to tell her to stop, feeling the urge within him building, rising, his chest threatening to burst if he didn't tell her to shut up. Staring ahead on the path they were on, his face contorted with pained rage, he opened his mouth and Janet said, "Lewis, if you had a super power what would it be?"

Lewis thought about yelling anyway, to make himself feel better, but a small underused voice within him told him that he really needed to learn how to talk to people again. So he took a deep breath and said, "Super speed. Hands down."

"Really? To get out of problems?"

"More like, so problems don't start."

"I see. Most people would want to fly."

"Yeah, everyone says that. Way too easy an answer."

"Hm. Wouldn't being able to change into someone else be more effective for you?"

"You mean, like, transform at will? Maybe."

"You could use it to disguise yourself, certainly."

"Hey, I picked super speed. If that's what I wanted, that's my choice."

"Of course. Sorry."

Lewis sighed with relief when they finally came out of the woods on top of a hill that sloped down to a beach, next to which was Olivine City. The sun was almost completely down, putting the coast in a hazy glow, the blue of the ocean calm and unmoving. The lighthouse of Olivine broadcast its beam in slow arcs, casting illumination far out over the water.

They followed the crest of the hill until it met up with the outskirts of the city, which they slipped into, Noibat returning to its pokeball. Olivine, being a port city, bustled mutely in the day's end, people moving about to wherever they were going to spend their nights or performing the final transactions for their businesses. The electric glow of restaurants beckoned them. Lewis stretched his arms, and felt his stomach rumble.

"Well Janet, here we are. Olivine. No Virus guys here, at least not out in the open. With those outfits, who can blame them? Janet?"

She looked all around them, searching in every alley and down every road they crossed. "Right. Not here."

"I'm serious, you can relax. I think. So…"

"I'm not so sure about that. But I need to go to the Pokémon center here and, well, maybe I can check."

"I thought you were a healer, so you don't need to?"

"Some things are beyond my skill, yet. I'm _training_ to be a healer, doofus."

"Yeah, well I'm going to find some food. Which is why I was going to say…"

"I'll meet you at the lighthouse in an hour. If I'm not there, I'll be at the Pokémon center."

"Uh, right."

"What did you want to say?"

"Nevermind. I'll see you."

Lewis turned and stalked into the city, shaking his head. Janet stared at him, and shook her own. "What a weird kid," she said.

The Pokémon center was just two streets away. Janet went inside and blinked. This was both because the lighting was drastically brighter than the dim of encroaching night, and also because the lobby was crammed with people. Pokémon centers are notable for a couple of things, but chief among these are the fact that injured Pokémon will receive free healing, and that the process takes less than two minutes for a skilled nurse to take the trainers pokeballs, place them in a machine, push a few buttons, and return the pokeballs to the trainer. Janet was frightened that a pandemic had arisen, until she realized that the desk where the nurse waited on customers was empty of said customers. Nearly two dozen people were crowded around a far corner of the room, which contained two PCs.

The other major aspect of Pokémon centers is the fact that they contain computers which people can access their Pokémon with. Due to the way that pokeballs turn Pokémon into energy, the pokeballs then can be stored on the PC storage system, which was technology so far beyond Janet that she rarely used it. However, it was certainly useful for Pokémon trainers, who caught more Pokémon than they were typically able to care for. The dormant state that Pokémon were put into when they were sucked into pokeballs persisted, she had heard, when the computers transferred them to whatever cyber gobbledygook or digital purgatory they were stored.

As she came closer to the front desk, she overheard the chatter of the room, and her blood chilled.

"I just want to get one Pokémon out, just one. I need to get to Violet city and I need Fearow to take me there. Why can't they just turn the dumb things back on?"

"Maybe there's a power outage somewhere? Or some kind of attack on the whole infrastructure? Why isn't anyone doing anything about this!"

"What if the entire system is down for good? Oh, my poor Meowth, I should never have put you in there!"

"Don't worry, I hear that they're looking for Bill so he can fix the whole thing once and for all. You know, Bill? Yeah, the guy that made the thing? Missing? How did he go missing? When?"

"It's Team Rocket, I swear it is! No, I'm serious, I saw some guys wearing these weird outfits. No, they were like, blue."

"It can't be everyone. It has to be just a localized incident, you know, like when the power goes out for just half a neighborhood. I'm sure I can get to my Pokémon, I've just got to…"

"I just want my Pokémon out of there. If I never see Quilava again, I'll just put myself in a pokeball and go into the digital world myself!"

When Janet finally reached the front desk, the nurse was on the phone. Her face was pale as she spoke into it, holding both ends to her face to protect against the broiling din. Finally she set it down and cleared her throat. "Attention, everyone! Please, remain calm! Everyone, please listen!"

People began to turn to face the nurse. The agitated pulse of the room quieted down a beat. Whoever was able to claim one of the computers went right on ignoring the nurse.

"There is a computer café on Orchard Avenue which is getting computers set up for everyone so that they can try to access the storage system. Mister Seagram will allow everyone ten minutes at standard rates to try, but I would like to remind everyone that the authorities are doing their best to figure out what is wrong and will have the issue fixed as soon as possible. Please, file out orderly, yes, thank you, please, again remain calm, we're doing everything in our power to fix the issues. Thank you."

By then most of the people had made tracks out of the Pokémon center. A couple hung around like ghosts—some milled about, looking at nothing in particular, making these the ones that had found themselves locked away from their Pokémon; others waited for their turn to use the remaining PCs with frantic patience. Janet stood aside and watched them, her heart thumping in her chest, clutching her purse. She finally swallowed, straightened herself, and made her way to the desk once more.

The nurse smiled at her, though her hair was astray and her eyes looked like she had just returned from a funeral. "Hello, welcome to our Pokémon Center," she said. Janet was impressed with how cheerful her voice was. "Is there something that I can do for you? If you didn't hear before, there are issues with the storage system in Johto and you won't be able to use the PC for anything other than basic functions."

"I just came to have my Pokémon healed, please."

"Oh. Yes, please, place them here and I'll take care of that for you." She produced a small tray with six rounded depressions that would hold pokeballs.

Janet fished in her purse and pulled them out one by one. "Yeah. Vaporeon, Bellossom, Aromatisse, Dratini, Flaaffy, and… yes, Pikachu."

The nurse smiled automatically and automatically carried the tray to a machine which would automatically heal Janet's Pokémon.

"Training a Pikachu, huh? I've got to hand it to you, that's a good choice. A bit of a cliché nowadays, but it takes skill to train it without evolving. Not many people have that patience."

Janet turned to face another girl, perhaps a year older than herself, with bright orange hair under a cap tilted rather stylishly to one side. Being able to wear a cap tilted at such a vogue angle was the territory of very skilled trainers. The six pokeballs on the girl's belt and the seven badges adorned to her vest suggested that this girl was a very skilled trainer.

"Well, I'm not exactly a trainer," said Janet. "It was… injured, and I wanted to heal it, that's all."

The other girl shrugged. "Well, I guess that explains why you had two electric type Pokémon on your team. Guess it's all well that you're not really a trainer, since now you can't exactly trade one in for something more strategic."

"Yes… what is going on with that, anyway?"

"The storage system went down about three hours ago. As far as anyone knows, it could be space aliens that turned the entire thing off. No one seems to have a clue." The girl seemed rather pleased about it.

"You don't seem to be upset," said Janet.

"I mean, sure, it stinks that I can't get my other Pokémon out, but I have my team ready with me now." She patted her belt. "I was going to get my last badge and take the league challenge, but now I'm thinking, maybe this is a better challenge, you know? Or a more productive one. I can take on the elite four any time I want now, but this? Do you have any idea what this means?"

"That… okay, no, I guess I don't," said Janet.

The red haired girl grinned, placing her hands on her hips. If she had been wearing a cape, Janet imagined that it would blow dramatically in the wind behind her at this point. "Well, you will, when you find out that whatever shadowy organization is behind this crime is going to be taken down by Candace McKaller, ace trainer and soon to be Pokémon champion!"

Janet stared at her. Finally she nodded. "I get it. Like that one guy, from a long time ago. The one that shut down Team Rocket initially."

"Exactly," said Candace. "Like Red, I'm going to be a Pokémon trainer that takes the initiative, that goes above and beyond to investigate and really get to the bottom of this mystery."

Janet made an effort to not raise an eyebrow. "Somewhere in there you plan on helping people get their Pokémon back, right?"

"Well, yeah. That'll happen too." Candace gave Janet a sidelong glance, as if she were working some things out. "I like your spirit, girl. What's your name?"

"Janet."

"Janet, you should come with me! I can already tell that we'd make an awesome team. I already have the first course of action, right? So, who made the storage system? Bill. Where is Bill? No one knows."

"He's really missing?" Janet heard the nurse place the tray on the counter behind her and move away.

"Vanished. So there's our lead. The two known places that he might show up in are either Goldenrod city or Cerulean city in Kanto. So if we work our way from Goldenrod to Cerulean, eventually we find where the scent goes cold. If he's been kidnapped, then we can begin looking for clues. So, what do you say Janet?"

Janet began replacing her pokeballs in her purse. "Oh, uhm, I don't know Candace. I appreciate the offer, but don't think I can leave Johto just now. I wish you luck, though."

"Hey, no sweat!" Candace grinned and settled her backpack on her shoulders. Her badges clinked. "But it'll take me a couple days to really investigate in Goldenrod, so if you change your mind, that's where I'll be. Later, gator!" Candace then turned and marched out of the Pokémon center into the night. Janet blinked, this time due to realizing the sudden emptiness of people within the Pokémon center. She set her jaw, and went out as well.

Lewis tapped his fingers on the table, slouched to one side. He stared at the individual streaks in the wood grain of the table, counting each one in his head; that is to say, he stared at nothing and all, while his mind processed his next course of action. Beside his hand was a plate, the fries all but gone save for a blot of ketchup, his hamburger reduced to meager crumbs. Beside his elbow, which was propped on the table, whose arm was propping up his head, was a half empty cup of soda. Under the cup was a tip of a couple dollars. He had slipped the bill inside of his pocket. Now was the time he usually slipped into the restroom for a few minutes, and then strolled out of the restaurant. His fingers kept drumming.

Janet had asked him to wait for her by the lighthouse. Then, what? Was he going to drag her all over Johto? The idea made him queasy. She wouldn't put up with his behavior for two days before calling the police down on him. And what about those nutjobs tailing her, Virus? He wouldn't be able to pull her out of dangerous situations at every turn. There was some mystery there, something that she wasn't telling him, that made him want to chew on his fork.

Of course, free healing without having to come into whatever city or town was closest would be incredibly convenient, especially if he had to lie low for a while due to the occurrences that arose whenever he was in a city or town. This thought brought him to his current situation. This thought brought him to his Pokémon, which would need to eat later. He still had the steaks, slowly defrosting in his backpack, and most of his Pokémon would eat meat. The rest would forage. Would Janet protest every time Lewis needed something? Maybe he could guilt her into buying whatever he needed. Not very classy, he reflected, but if necessary…

"You waiting on something else, kid?" A man with big hairy arms in an apron and a white paper hat was looking down on him. The arms were crossed.

"Uh, no. Well, maybe. My friend might meet me here."

"Did the waiter bring your bill?"

"Oh, yes. I have it next to my wallet."

"Well you might want to hurry up and settle the bill, we're closing in five. Call your friend if you gotta."

"Oh. Thanks."

The manager guy gave him a hard look, and then went over to tap on the cash register. Of all the places Lewis could have popped into, he had to get the one that had a rash of dine-and-dashes. Lewis sighed, got up, and wandered to the register.

"I just need to see your bill," said the manager in a tone that suggested he was ready for whatever sob story Lewis was about to put on him.

In answer, Lewis placed his hand on the counter. Clutched in his fingers was a pokeball. "How about another way of paying?"

The manager looked Lewis up and down. His eyes narrowed. "Most punks just run for it. But that's because they know they'd just get crushed one way or another if they didn't. You really want to do this, kid?"

"I win, I walk away. You win, I'll mop your floors for a week."

"Two weeks."

"Won't be happening, but deal."

"Outside," said the manager. He called into the kitchen behind him, "Lenny! Be back in a minute!" He made for the door, flicking off his neon 'Open' sign.

"Not very confident in yourself?" said Lewis.

"You're a laugh, kid. Let's get this over with so I can fill the mop bucket with your tears."

Lewis followed him, deciding that any further rejoinders wouldn't get him anywhere. They squared off in the street in front of the restaurant. The glow from its windows poured out to illuminate them. Lewis found himself smiling in spite of himself. It had been awhile since he'd gotten himself into a battle that actually resembled a normal trainer match. The manager had produced a pokeball, which he bounced in his palm. It appeared to be the only one he carried. Lewis aimed the one he had challenged with at the pavement between them.

"Grovyle, I choose you!" Lewis' pokeball opened and the light from it became Grovyle, who crouched on the sidewalk, staring at the manager.

"Well this'll be easy," said his opponent. He aimed his pokeball and it opened, the light flying out and striking just in front of Grovyle, making the lizard Pokémon jump back. It grew into a rotund creature with black arms and underbody and purple above its waist, standing on its hind legs with a curly pink tail balanced behind it and a pig's snout. Three round black stones, two on its head and one on its stomach, gleamed in the diner's light. "Get em, Grumpig."

Grovyle wasted no time. It flew at its opponent, slashing the leaves on its arms. Grumpig seemed to be doing a dance, bouncing on its feet from side to side like a nervous child. As Grovyle came close, it squealed and sidestepped Grovyle, who skidded on the pavement. They squared off then, circling around each other; Grovyle moved nothing but his legs, arms out to his sides ready to slash, while Grumpig danced, its face worked up in concentration.

"Now Grumpig, use your psybeam!" Grumpig complied, freezing as it stared at Grovyle, a wave of multicolored energy springing from its mind. Grovyle jumped forward to attack, but merely crashed into the psychic attack, landing on his back.

"Grovyle, return!" said Lewis. He held out his pokeball and Grovyle went back inside.

The manager snorted. So did his Pokémon. "Giving up already, huh?"

"Not a chance. Go, Sneasel!" Lewis held out his pokeball and his Sneasel came out. It cocked its head from side to side, flicking its ears. "Feint attack!"

"Headbutt, Grumpig!"

The Pokémon came at one another, the Grumpig bouncing from foot to foot while Sneasel just walked. Grumpig threw their head forward, and Sneasel jumped back just before the attack connected. As the Grumpig straightened itself, Sneasel's clawed paw swung upward under the other Pokémon's chin, flinging it back.

"Dirty move, even from a dark type," said the manager. "But let me show you something to remember while you're mopping my floor. Grumpig, use your power gem!"

Grumpig lowered their head. Sneasel stood on guard, its claws raised. Then, from the gems on Grumpig's head, a wave of dark energy flung out and blasted Sneasel, who cried out before falling to their knees.

"Sneasel, no!" Lewis held out his pokeball and brought his Pokémon back. "Real clever. That's a rock type move, isn't it?"

"And Sneasel is part ice. Too bad your dark type Pokémon wasn't as immune as you probably thought it was, huh?"

Lewis grinned. "Too bad for you, it's not over yet. Go, Krokorok!"

Krokorok came out of its pokeball, crossed its arms, and yawned at Grumpig. It thumped its tail side to side, looking their opponent up and down.

"So you've got two dark types. At least you're making this a fair fight, kid. Grumpig, headbutt! Don't let up!"

"Krokorok, bite that porker!"

Krokorok looked back at Lewis as if this idea had already occurred to it, and then faced the Grumpig rushing at it. Just before Grumpig could land its attack, Krokorok jumped back and clamped its jaws on their leg, yanking Grumpig off its feet. Grumpig squealed as Krokorok rolled over it, biting all over its opponent. Eventually Grumpig rolled out from under Krokorok, aimed its head down, and blasted another power gem attack from the black spheres on its head.

"That's it, wear em down Grumpig!" said the manager.

Krokorok raised its arms, buffeted by the attack. When the blast was over though, it stood tall. Then, it rushed Grumpig, and whirled its tail around to smack the opponent right in its head. Grumpig crumpled.

"That's it, Krokorok! Now, finish the job!"

"Wait!" The manager held out his pokeball, and retrieved his Grumpig. "That's enough. You've got me beat."

Lewis smiled, strolling up to his Pokémon, which had crossed its arms again and yawned. "Looks like it, chum," he said. "So…"

"So get out of here. But if I see you again in my diner, I'm putting salt in your drink. Clear?"

"You got it, pops. Come on, girl," he said to Krokorok. "Let's get out of here."

Lewis walked off into the street, feeling rather pleased with himself. As he put his Pokémon away, however, he realized that there was someone waiting at the street corner. At first he thought it was Janet and prepared himself for a lecture, until he saw the indigo jumpsuit the figure was sporting.

He made himself stay on the same side of the street as the Virus goon, pretending to not look at him. He had just walked past them and was prepared for a sigh of relief when they spoke.

"You handled yourself pretty good today," he said.

Lewis turned. "Oh, that? Hey, thanks. Beats having to pay for the meal."

"I'm not talking about that," the guy said. They were far away enough from a street lamp that his face was in shadows, but Lewis knew that this was the same guy he'd met earlier. "You like being a troublemaker, don't you?"

"Trouble's my middle name. One of them, anyway."

"But you know how to handle yourself in a fight. Only the best troublemakers can say that."

"I know my way around my Pokémon, yeah."

"Right. You could help us, you know."

"Or I could keep walking."

"What if I could give you what you don't have?"

"You mean, what, peace and quiet? Or are you going to drop a nugget in my lap?"

"We could do that. But what someone like you needs is power. The manager at the diner wouldn't have even thought about challenging you if he knew that you were with Virus."

"Yeah? I've never heard of you, what makes you think he has?"

"Maybe you haven't been paying much attention to the news lately, boy. Things are changing, and Virus is going to be the catalyst to a new world. Soon, you won't need your Pokémon to get your way. Power will follow you like smoke from a fire. And when the fire starts to burn, which side do you want to be on, hm?"

Lewis opened his mouth and then closed it. He stared hard into the shadows surrounding the man's face, but he could see the pull of a smile across his mouth. "Yeah, right. What do you even want from me?"

"Just tell us where your friend is. She won't be harmed, don't worry. My associates and I just want to talk to her."

"Talk, uh huh. She doesn't want to talk to you, though. Any good reason why?"

"Lewis!"

Lewis and the Virus goon spun as Janet came running down the street to them. She aimed a pokeball and from it came a blue quadrupedal creature like a cat with a dolphin's tail and frills and fins along its neck and head. "Vaporeon, blast him!"

The man turned and bolted down the other street as Vaporeon opened its mouth and shot a jet of water at him. Lewis dodged to one side and landed on his knees with a grunt. Vaporeon stopped next to him protectively, its fins bristling as it faced off into the night at the retreating Virus goon.

"I'll get you back!" he shouted at them. "You'll see! You're going to regret taking on Virus, you runt! You little thief! You just wait!"

Vaporeon made a shrill cry at it, flapping its tail. "You tell him, Vaporeon," said Janet. "Next time he plans on messing with us, we'll be ready for him. No more running away."

"Something change your mind?" said Lewis as he stood up.

"Did he push you over?" Janet asked.

"No. I… well."

"You tripped."

"Yes, fine. But why the sudden heroics? Trying to get even with me already?"

Janet tilted her head to one side. "No. It actually has nothing to do with earlier. Nevermind, then." She turned and began to walk away.

"Thank you," said Lewis.

Janet looked at him again. Vaporeon looked from its owner to Lewis and back again. "You're welcome. And, I guess I just liked the odds of the two of us against just the one of them this time."

"That's one of the first things you've said that I really understand," said Lewis. "You really made him mad at me, though. The dude was trying to recruit me or something."

"I'm sure his anger was directed at me, really. We should be going." She began walking up the road.

"Oh yeah? Didn't you hear him call me a thief? It really hurt my feelings, by the way." Lewis fell in step behind her, Vaporeon taking up the rear.

"He was referring to me," said Janet. She didn't look at him.

"You? A thief? Is that what they're so ticked about?"

"We need to get out of the city. Then we'll talk." She fell quiet as they made their way through town, toward the lighthouse. Lewis shrugged and wiped his hand over his face. Still sweaty. He sighed and kept up.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sea trundled deftly below, making soft noises as it crashed into boulders in the sand. Salt water sprayed into the air and into Lewis' face as he looked out at the surf. The lighthouse was just above them, its beam passing over his head every minute or so. Janet was somewhere behind him, standing on a pier. He could feel her eyes on his back, waiting for him to finish throwing little stones into the ocean. He had told her that he wanted some privacy for a minute. Apparently that wasn't allowed. He turned and glared at the pier, but Janet wasn't there. A pokeball slipped into his hand. He brushed his finger over the little button on the front, just thinking. Janet wanted to leave the city tonight. That was fine by him, as long as they took a new route. But he wondered if he should. He could go on without her, could even join Virus. A meal every night that he didn't have to steal or fight over sounded incredible. Even if he worked with a bunch of creeps.

 _What did she steal?_

Finally he climbed the sloping shore back to the pier, reattaching the pokeball to his belt.

He found Janet next to a big empty looking building next to the lighthouse kicking idly against a broken television set. Her face was stony serious as she looked at him.

"Enjoy your private time, Lewis?" she said.

"Immensely. What's the plan? So far you have a pattern of running away, attacking, and running away again, so I guess it's time to attack, right?"

"Still running, sorry. We'll need to get out of Olivine as quickly as possible. I think they'll be expecting that, but since it's dark we can cut through the woods again and get back out on the route. From there, as long as we're careful we should be fine until… well, until we agree on where to go next."

"Oh. Agree, huh? You have ideas to share?"

"Goldenrod city, for one. That seems like the best bet, but… well, let's wait till tomorrow when we're a little safer. Okay?"

"You'll tell me what this whole business with you and Virus is about?"

"There's something I need to show you, about that." She looked away into the night. The ribbon she had tied into her hair caught the meager moonlight.

"Yeah, I'm too tired to argue, to be honest. Otherwise we'd stand here for hours. Not a complaint or anything about how much we're moving around, or anything, but just letting you know."

"Oh. Alright. Well, come on, let's try to find a way out of here without being seen."

For an hour and the better part of a second one, they crept through the streets and alleys of Olivine city, the lighthouse behind them swinging its beam over the ocean. Lewis pointed out early on that they wanted to keep careful that they weren't seen by anyone, in case Virus started asking around for them. So, they skirted streetlamps and waited for any night traffic—such as tipsy sailors and laughing groups of men and women and the occasional solitary figure trying to place a tune under the Olivine moon beam—to stagger by before fleeing to the next street, and the next. Finally they made it to the beginning of route 39. From here, they took to the woodlands bordering the road, sneaking through for two miles, at which point they reached a clearing, and Lewis reached his breaking point.

He said, "This is it. I'm going to fall over. It's… must be past midnight, by now."

"Alright," said Janet. "You're right, I guess chances are they're not going to find us here."

"Sure, yeah. That's exactly what I was concerned about. Feel free to look for their hidden cameras or booby traps. I'm going to…" He lay in a patch of short soft grass, using his backpack as a pillow. Janet laid a blanket nearby, brushed her teeth, and before laying down herself she inspected the treeline for any of the goodies Lewis mentioned, though found none.

Lewis found himself being nudged awake sometime long before noon.

Too early. He rolled over and grunted.

"Lewis?"

He sat up, one hand going to his belt, touching a pokeball. He looked around, squinting into a murky landscape of trees and a big tan blob. The blob condensed into a face, and Lewis' brain extrapolated the features of the face into a name.

"Ugh," he said.

"Are you awake?" said Janet.

"Oh, I am now, Janet."

"Good. I let you sleep as long as I could. I wanted to get moving early today."

Lewis looked around him and shivered. Dew clung to his clothes and his pack, as well as the bed of grass he'd slept on. Mist rose amongst the slanting shadows of the trees surrounding them, holding the smells of growth and decay. Lewis soon closed his eyes and laid back down, throwing an arm over his face. "This isn't even morning yet," he said.

"It… oh. Um, when is morning, for you?"

"Noon."

"When is noon, then?"

"Janet, why did you want to go so soon? I think we're safe here, at least until afternoon."

"Why would we stay here till then?"

"That's when I wake up."

"But, you said morning was—"

"Janet, answer me, I'm begging you."

She made a quick sigh through her nose. Lewis imagined her face scrunched up in agitation and tried not to smile. "I was going to show you what I found."

"Found… what you took from Virus, you mean?"

"I didn't…! Fine. There's no point for me to deny that, I guess. Can you at least look at me?"

Lewis sat up, a wet brown leaf clinging to his temple. "Yes, princess Unova, what can we do for you?"

Janet looked askance at the treeline again. Lewis saw the wrapper to a granola bar and a canteen of water near her knees, which she was sitting on, pulling her patchwork dress over her skin. He blearily wondered how long she had been awake, a thought which turned into a thicket of confused anguish within him. He wiped his face, which helped somewhat. Too early.

Janet began, "What I'm about to show you, well, I don't think anyone should see this. Except you—I need help, from someone I can trust."

"You sure know how to pick 'em."

"Shut up, I'm serious. If I went to anyone else, well, I don't know if they'd go to Virus or not." She considered, reaching into her giant knitted purse and pulling out her pokeballs, one at a time. "Really, I don't know if you won't. But I guess Virus is after you too, now. Sorry for that."

"Yeah, yeah. Based on what I saw of those guys, it'd only be a matter of time before I ticked them off enough to… wait, seven?"

Janet looked up at him like a mother hen on its nest. Sure enough, seven pokeballs were placed in an arch around her knees. The significance of this being Pokémon trainers, and truthfully anyone that carried Pokémon with them for whatever reason, could carry a maximum of six. Any more, and the seventh pokeball would be teleported away into Bill's storage system. Most trainers at some point or another try to break these rules, usually by keeping a Pokémon out of their pokeball and wearing them like a hat. They then find that it's not the pokeballs themselves which prevent people from going over the maximum, but whatever qualities about Pokémon themselves which are linked to the storage system. Special cases can of course be made for anyone that requires additional Pokémon, such as farmer Brown, who had obtained a permit years ago so that his herd didn't get sucked away into the ether. As many people don't understand the inner workings of the storage system, pokeballs, how the system and the permits actually know who's who and what's what, or even why six is the magic number of Pokémon, the popular axiom adopted by anyone that thinks too long and hard about it arises: Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.

And now Lewis was staring at someone that had broken those rules, the laws of his physical world as concrete as gravity. Janet might as well have turned the Olivine lighthouse upside down with the snap of her fingers, or moved Mount Mortar under them during the night.

Lewis was rather impressed with this girl.

"How? You… it… how!"

"I know what it looks like," said Janet.

"Is one of them a fake? Or is this what you took from Virus? They've found a way to catch Pokémon without them going to the PC?"

"Wrong on all accounts. Just, look, hear me out."

"Oh, I'm all ears!" Lewis realized he had stood up, and was pacing back and forth. He stopped, staring at the seven pokeballs.

"First of all, if you haven't heard yet, the storage system went down yesterday afternoon. No one knows how, last I've heard."

"It… wait, alright, so you can catch Pokémon without a limit, now?"

"Just, listen. And stop pacing, please." Lewis stopped, again. "I don't know what it means for catching new Pokémon, yet. But I got this one," she tapped on the last pokeball, "Before it all started. Like, maybe an hour, two before."

"Okay, alright, and Virus? They fit in here somewhere."

"Yeah. They do. That's where I got it."

"Aha, see?" Lewis pointed at her, then back out toward the trees, and then began pacing again. "Virus, they're an organization of crooks, a crook organization. The guy last night kept going on about power, which is what crooks always want more of when they organize. What better way is there to get ahold of that than with an army? But a human army would get too much attention, too quickly. So Virus is trying to build an army of Pokémon, right? But they can't do that with the storage system in place. So they turn that off, build their army, and they… well, I guess take over the world. Isn't that what their type do?"

"Lewis, maybe you should sit down. I'm nervous enough already without you looking like you're about to foam from the mouth."

"Alright… alright, okay. Sitting." He sat.

Janet took a deep breath and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Yesterday, an hour or two before the storage system went down, I was on route 38 on my way to Olivine. I like to go there to look at the lighthouse, before you ask. But, on the way I heard a commotion just off the road, like a Pokémon battle. Since I didn't think it was appropriate for a battle to take place where there were no witnesses, so close to the road, I went to have a look."

"Sometimes battles just happen, you know?"

Janet ignored him. "As I snuck my way through the trees, with my Flaaffy beside me, I saw them. Those two men in Virus uniforms. They were holding these devices, I don't know what they were exactly, like big boxy remote controls. I watched them mess with them for a minute, and then these blasts of electricity started shooting out of the air. Like, out of nowhere, but then they… like, they opened up, like someone had pulled a zipper."

"That makes me worried about what was on the other side."

"It was incredible. The portal opened, closed, there was another crack of electricity, and it happened again. The guys started pushing all these buttons on their remotes, getting closer, the portal would stay open for longer. I thought… well, I don't really remember what I was thinking, I was panicking really. I wanted to run away, but I had to know if I was watching the end of the world first. You know?"

"No, I probably would have run away. But keep going."

"Well of course, they got the portal to stay open, but when it did it changed. It was like, a tunnel then, just opened up in the middle of the air where someone could walk right into it. Lights were swirling around in it, red and blue and black, and the guys aimed their little remote things into it. That's when I heard… something screaming."

"They were trying to call on some kind of legendary Pokémon, maybe?"

"I had no idea, then. But, something was coming out of the portal, like it was being dragged or pulled out. It was a little thing, a creature of some kind, so I thought it must have been a Pokémon, right? But the way it was… screaming, it was as if it was in this horrible pain, or was scared, I thought I would start screaming too. The portal started to close then, and finally they had the creature and were holding it tight, it started wiggling all around, still screaming."

"You didn't."

"I… what?"

"Don't tell me you jumped out of the bushes, ran out, attacking them like some kind of wild warrior of justice."

"Well, okay, I won't. And I didn't, either."

"Huh."

"Flaaffy did. She just charged at them. I tried to stop her, but she was blasting them with electricity, making this horrible sound. She fried them, I guess fried their devices too since the portal just shut off, and they ran away. I don't know why, maybe we scared them, made them think they'd opened another portal by accident. I rushed to Flaaffy, and I put the creature in a pokeball, thinking it would go to the storage system, so I could heal it later."

"But it didn't work."

Janet nodded. "I stood there for a minute like an idiot, holding this extra pokeball, wondering why it wasn't teleporting. Flaaffy started pushing me, and that's when I saw the Virus guys coming back. After that, I ran. I sent out Pokémon as I went to hold them up as best as I could, but they wouldn't stop. Eventually, I ran into you." She shrugged and smiled.

"Well, alright… But then, what Pokémon was it anyway? If it went in a pokeball, it had to be a Pokémon, right? Maybe it's like, some kind that's never been seen before?"

Janet nodded, picking up the seventh pokeball and holding it, lightly dragging her fingers against the red curve of the top half. "I took it to a Pokémon center and healed it, so we should be able to learn something from it, or at least figure out what kind of pokemon it is. You wouldn't happen to have a Pokedex, would you?"

Lewis shook his head. "Nope. You mean you don't have one?"

"Never needed one. It's alright, we'll figure it out."

She pressed the button on the pokeball, and the device opened. A swirl of white light sprung out and touched down on the ground between them. The light began to take form, but instead of white the light shimmered with tones of violet and green, shifting to red and blue. Janet and Lewis looked stunned at each other, and then watched as the light grew in intensity for a fearful moment before finally dying down and fading.

There in the dawn's dewy caress was a small creature. It stood perhaps at mid-calf to Lewis when it stood at all. Currently, it was lying on its side. It was of a ruddy orange color on its top half with a cream colored belly, four stubby legs, a head that blended into the rest of its body, and two long fins shaped like bat wings above its ears.

"It's… dead?" said Lewis.

"This doesn't make sense," said Janet. "I just took it to the Pokémon center!"

The creature wheezed, and its eyes, a gleaming innocent blue, opened to look at them.

Lewis waved his arms. "Well, you're the Pokémon healer. Heal it!"

"But… I don't even know what's wrong, or, or what the kinds of reactions it'll have to my medicines!"

"Okay, just, what does it look like happened? Do whatever treatment you do for what it looks like it's got."

"It looks like it got thrown off a cliff."

"Just do, try!"

"It's still too dark, here… I need more light."

Lewis took off his backpack and rummaged. A steak or two flopped onto the ground along with some increasingly dirty changes of clothes. Finally he pulled out a flashlight and turned it on, shining the beam down on the creature.

Janet had popped Meowstic out of its pokeball, as well as a little green Pokémon with a crown of flowers and a skirt of multicolored leaves. She addressed the second one, "Bellossom, use your sweet scent to keep it calmed down. Meowstic, you know the drill. Lewis, you're shining that in my eyes."

Janet began to work on the mysterious monster. She dabbed it with swabs of some foul-smelling gunk, wiped it with a cloth coated in a pink powder, and even went so far as to spray it with a potion, which she told a frantic Lewis that such an act was only a last straw. The creature looked at them as they worked, wincing and making pathetic wheezes. She gave it some water, a bite of food, and then they waited, watching.

After a good half an hour, Lewis laid his head on his backpack, shutting the flashlight off. He realized later that he had dozed off—Janet had informed him, in fact, as she had stayed awake with her patient—for nearly two hours. Then he was shook awake.

"Lewis! I think it's waking up!"

"Nurrghmbm," said Lewis.

"Just get up, hurry!" Lewis rolled over, blinking. It was still what he termed pre-morning, he noticed. He groaned, and then remembered the operation from earlier. He scrambled over to where the unknown Pokémon lay.

The creature was laying on its belly, breathing with only mild difficulty, the winglike protrusions on its head twitching and flexing much more than before. Janet hovered over it, touching it here and there, looking for any signs of pain. She had wrapped a strip of cloth around what looked like a burn running down its side. Lewis was surprised to see that the thing actually looked far better than it had when Janet first popped it out of its pokeball.

It lifted its stumpy head then, and looked at her, its eyes wide. It made a little coughing sound, sniffed, flapped the wing things on its head, turned to Lewis. It began looking all around it, sniffing, flapping its head wings, but mostly it just looked, and saw.

"It's okay, little guy," Janet cooed. "Those guys aren't going to hurt you, now." She reached out and stroked its head, and the creature's wings spread apart, went flat, and it smiled. Many if not most Pokémon are able to portray very humanlike emotions in the traditional humanlike mannerisms, including facial expressions. However there was something uncanny about the smile that sent a chill down Lewis' spine, as if the creature could comprehend Janet's words and reach its own conclusions that, yeah, it was safe for now, and that it would have to take that as it was for the time being. Presently it looked up at Lewis as well, and another expression crossed its face—a question, whether Lewis was going to pull anything.

Janet said, "I think it's okay, it doesn't look like he's going to hurt us."

"Are you sure about that? He's awfully tall!"

Janet's hand froze and her mouth turned into a grimace. The answer, of course, had not come from Lewis. Janet tried to gain control of her jaw again so that she could try to move it and speak, but it wasn't getting anywhere.

Lewis had a brief sensation where he felt the world under him, all the way to its roots, then to the other side, and realized just how much of his mental energy was funneled into maintaining balance on the precarious curve he occupied, when he toppled backwards, his eyes never leaving those ice blue questions boring into him. His mouth, however, still seemed to work. "You talked."

The creature raised its head wings up, and then gave them a quick flap downward again, wiggling out from Janet's frozen hand. "Well… yes, so did you. Are you two… okay?"

"I'm not sure. You're… hold on." Lewis turned his head to the side, attempting not to look at anything in particular even when every tree and blade of grass stood out in great detail all around him. He looked back at the creature, and realized he hadn't taken the deep breath he had intended, so instead his voice was a squeak. "I'm fine."

"Oh. Is this the real world?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess it is. It was last I checked anyway. Are you a legendary Pokémon?"

"No. I don't know what that means."

"Ah. I was afraid of that."

It looked up at Janet, who had put her hand down and was trying to gain control of her mouth still. "What about her? She seems a little upset. Is it something you did?"

Lewis tried to respond, but found out a moment later that he was laughing, on his back and looking into the blue sky above, and belting laughter. Here he was, in contact with a creature from some extradimensional plane of existence, and even it was accusing him of being a miscreant.

Janet, while Lewis rolled about and the creature sat back on its haunches staring at him, finally spoke, "You're not a Pokémon at all, are you?"

"I… well, I didn't think so. I'm Patamon. Are humans really this weird?"

Janet gulped before speaking, then wish she hadn't when her mouth turned into sandpaper. "You know what we are… and you're not a Pokémon. A Patamon, then…"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's my name. My head is kinda fuzzy."

"Your name. Right. Okay."

"Well, it's what I am, so, it's my name, too. Humans and Digimon do everything different, I guess."

"Digimon!" wailed Lewis, before descending into another flurry of giggles.

"Digimon," said Janet. She brushed her hand through her hair, but then stopped and put the hand back down. "Where... how… what are you?"

Patamon gave each of them a worried frown. "I don't know where I am, except that this is the real world. I already told you I'm a Digimon, and I guess I'm just confused, hungry, still scared a little."

Lewis had stood up and begun rapidly pacing. He brushed his hand over his hair, slicking it back across his scalp. An idiot grin still spread across his face, but his eyes were serious, as if the upper and lower halves of his head hadn't agreed yet what to make of the situation. "Oh man, Janet, this is golden. This is a baker's dozen nuggets, a real, big, pickle. What you've done is abduct a monster from another world, out of the arms of people who probably knew what they were doing, and now here we are with it. Yeah, oh yeah. This is bad, this is real bad."

"Lewis, calm down."

"No, no, no. No more calm, nope. Janet, we have to put that thing back."

"No!" squealed Patamon. It backed up to Janet, then backed away from her, looking to the both of them.

"Lewis, stop! You're scaring Patamon."

"He's scaring me! Janet, you know what that thing is? It's some kind of mutated Pokémon, something that the public isn't supposed to know about. Virus…" He stopped, and this time his brain successfully made a few rotations.

Janet frowned at Lewis and stood up. "Virus pulled Patamon out of wherever he came from screaming. I'm not giving him back to them."

"You're not the ones that did that, then?" said Patamon. "I didn't think you were. Well, I was hoping not."

"I've got it," said Lewis. "Can we safely assume that Virus is behind the storage system shutdown thing?"

"It's possible," said Janet.

"Well, I said earlier that they could raise an army of Pokémon, thinking they had pokeballs that didn't apply to the system. But what if pokeballs and everything else still operates the same? They don't need an army of Pokémon if they can get another source of troops."

"Maybe," said Janet. "Patamon, where do you come from? Do you remember that?"

"It was…" Patamon raised its forelegs to its head, rubbing its temples. "It was so long ago. I think. I've been sleeping for a very very long long time. But, I come from the digital world."

"Are there other Digimon there?" She repeated the term a couple times in her head, trying to make sense of it.

"Yeah. At least, there was. I got woken up by whatever brought me here. One second I was asleep, and then I was being sucked into the real world, and then there was… I was in pain. Something hurt a lot, and then I was asleep again, but, I wasn't asleep. I just couldn't move, and it was really quiet. There were these, almost voices coming from near me, but I couldn't understand any of it. And then I woke up again and here I was, except you were putting medicine on me and there was a bright light over me. Then I slept again, but for real this time, and when I woke up I saw you." Patamon smiled again, leveling off his head wings.

Janet smiled as well, but bit her lip. "I think… what hurt you might have been me. Or, my Pokémon, at least. I thought those guys were going to hurt you, and I guess Flaaffy did too because she ran out and zapped them. I'm sorry."

Patamon blinked at her, and then wiggled its nose. "I think it's alright, unless your… poke-yemon, was trying to fight me. I guess you did help me feel better again. At least, I feel better now than I did earlier."

"Well, nice going, Pokémon healer," said Lewis. "What do we do now?"

"Now, I'm going to take care of Patamon," said Janet. "There's no rule that you can't have six Pokémon and a Digimon, too."

"Probably because, if this one is any indication, a Digimon's main strategy in battle is to stuff its face in a cream puff until the battle is over."

Patamon whined. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea right now, really."

Lewis nodded. "Good. Breakfast time, then. My Pokémon and I need to eat. Let's get closer to the road, first. I don't want to burn down the forest again."

Janet picked up Patamon, who climbed up and perched on her shoulder. "Again?" they both said.

"Don't ask," advised Lewis. He packed up his belongings and shouldered his pack, and began leading them out of the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The fire was small and smoldered with damp wood, but it was sufficient for Lewis to cook a couple of steaks on. His Pokémon were out of their pokeballs and milling about, stretching out, nibbling on cuts of meat or on berries they foraged. Route 38 was visible from the top of the hill they were camped on, the morning traffic almost nonexistent. Janet sat looking into the fire, hugging her knees. Patamon sat next to her, and Lewis across, munching on his own steak. Patamon had already finished.

"Shouldn't you use, I don't know, a fork or something?" said Janet.

Lewis was holding the steak in both greasy hands, gnawing on it like a wild animal. He swallowed and said, "Oh, should I hold my pinky out too, your majesty? A fork would mean a plate, and I don't have one of those."

"You could have asked, I have camping utensils…"

"Nope, too late." He buried his face in his breakfast.

"You only have five Pokémon out," said Janet.

"Observant."

"And six pokeballs."

"The last one already ate yesterday, at the restaurant."

"Okay," Janet said and shrugged. Lewis went back to eating.

Grovyle came up to Patamon and sniffed at him, crouching in the grass. Patamon tilted his head, but before he could come up with a decent greeting Grovyle climbed upon Patamon and perched on his head, making the Digimon writhe underneath.

"Is this how Pokémon usually say hello?" said Patamon as Grovyle looked up at Janet, his expressionless smirk driving into her face.

"Only if their trainers are morons," said Janet. She pulled out a little pouch from her purse, and from the pouch pulled a berry. She held it before Grovyle, who gave the berry his full attention, and soon Janet led the Pokémon off Patamon and into the grass nearby.

Patamon watched it, and then squeaked when Furret came near, sniffing as it slunk its body around in the grass, and then rubbed its face against Patamon's side. "So… Pokémon, they're not… well, I mean, they're…"

"They're not as smart as Digimon," said Janet. "At least, most aren't. Some are actually smarter than humans. There's all kinds of Pokémon in the world, and all different types. Fire, water, grass, rock, electricity, psychic, ghost."

"Ghost!" The round creature paled and its head wings sprung erect.

"Yes, but don't worry. Pokémon and people work together, most of the time. What about Digimon?"

"Oh, um, what about us?"

"You knew that Lewis and I were humans, right? So do Digimon and humans work together wherever you're from?"

"Well, there aren't humans, where I come from. And no Pokémon, either. Just Digimon, and… and I don't know what else, anymore. There's something that I can't remember. A lot of somethings, actually."

Lewis finished his meal, smacking his lips and licking his fingers. "You called this the real world?" he said.

"Yeah, the… the place I come from, wherever that was… I remember knowing that there was a place that we called the real world. Or other Digimon called it that, anyway."

"Crazy." Lewis wiped his hands on his sleeves.

"I guess… what do you use Pokémon for?"

Janet answered, "Anything at all that they can help us with, really. Humans use electricity, for example, and so electric Pokémon can create more energy for us."

Patamon looked at the fire, and then at the book of matches next to Lewis. "So if there was a fire Pokémon here, he could have started the fire for us?"

Janet nodded, "And my water Pokémon could put the fire out if Lewis tries to burn down the forest."

"Hey, I didn't _try_ to burn down the woods last time," said Lewis. "It was a legitimate accident, alright? And, of course, Pokémon are used to fight other Pokémon. Strong trainers train strong Pokémon. The best trainers battle each other to see who is the champion of all trainers."

"And then what?" said Patamon.

"Yeah, don't ask me. I'm not a trainer. And Miss Prissy here isn't either, really."

"I actually have two badges in the Johto league, thank you very much. They're necessary for higher level Pokémon to follow your commands."

"Ooh, I'm trembling now!"

"You two sure fight a lot," said Patamon. "Are you brother and sister?"

"God no," said Lewis. "And don't even suggest what I think you're going to suggest, I will vomit all over you."

"Lewis!" said Janet.

"Don't act like you wouldn't either."

Patamon said, "So what are you, uh, doing together?"

"That's exactly what we're going to figure out," said Lewis. "Now, those creepy dudes are going to be looking for us both. More accurately, they're going to be looking for Patamon. I'm going to just go out on a limb and figure that you're not going to give him up, so I won't suggest it."

"You kind of just did anyway," muttered Janet.

"And I'm not going to spend my life running from them on your account, either. So we're all stuck together, like a big happy family that fell in a pit of quicksand. So we need ideas, what can we do to stop Virus?"

Everything was quiet for a moment. Janet stared at Lewis, blinked, closed her mouth. "You mean, you actually want to do something about it, and not run away from the problem?"

"You haven't known me that long, what makes you think I run from every problem I have?"

"A hunch."

"Well, your worship, do you have a hunch for what we should do next?"

"Actually, yes," said Janet. "Yesterday, at the Pokémon Center, I met a trainer that suggested the cause for the storage system blackout had to do with Bill, the guy who created the system in the first place. The storage system going out and Virus extracting Digimon out of wherever it is they come from can't be mutually exclusive coincidences, right?"

"Uh, well, they could, but I'll bite. What will finding Bill accomplish?"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. But what I heard was that he disappeared around the same time the system went down."

"Maybe he shut it down himself, and he's hiding?"

"Working for Virus, you mean?"

"Maybe. Either against his will or not. If it is related to Virus and Patamon, then he'll have some answers. If not, well, maybe we'll become too public for Virus to make a move against us." His tone revealed distaste for such a course of events.

"I guess we'll see. Patamon, would… Patamon?"

Patamon was looking away, his ears down against the sides of his face. He watched the Pokemon rolling around for a moment before his eyes shut and his chin lowered. Lewis was shocked at the level of empathy he suddenly felt for the creature, more than he'd felt for even another human for a long time. "This is all my fault, isn't it?"

"No!" said Janet. "It's no more your fault than mine, or even Lewis' for that matter. It's Virus, those guys that pulled you out of your home. They're the ones to blame here."

"Because they were after me, though."

"That isn't fair!" Said Janet. "You didn't choose to come here, and they certainly weren't interested in getting you to cooperate with them. They dragged you, painfully, out of your digital place."

"She's right," said Lewis. "But I have to wonder why they were after Patamon in the first place. What can Digimon do that's so important?"

Patamon looked at him, frowning in thought. "Well. We don't have types the way you said Pokémon do, at least not fire or water, or rocks. Some of us can fight, though. Bigger Digimon. They… change."

"If your face scrunches up any more, I'm going to have to laugh," said Lewis.

"Do you mean they evolve?" said Janet. "Pokémon can do that, too."

"Evolve…" Patamon worked it over in his mind. "Something close to that. Something to have to do with fighting."

"So," said Lewis, "Digimon actually can fight. Just, they have to be, what, less squishy?"

"Maybe… I sure can't remember fighting anyone, but even I could fight," said Patamon. "I probably wouldn't win, though. But there's something else, too. Something to have to do with humans. But, I can't remember."

"Maybe you will later," said Janet. "I don't know what you went through, but it looked horrible. Maybe it caused you to lose some of your memory when they pulled you out of your world?"

"Maybe," said Patamon.

Lewis stood up, wiping his hands on the legs of his pants. "Anyway, so it looks like Virus uses Digimon for something. Maybe they shut down the storage system, too, or had a hand in it. If we find old Bill and shake him down, we can get some answers. Hopefully. Sounds like a great plan, except for one issue. Where does that mean we're going?"

"Goldenrod City," said Janet. "From there, the Magnet train to Kanto, then to Cerulean city where he used to live. There we can look for clues."

"That's a long way," said Lewis. "Especially when we're on the run. Should Patamon go back in a pokeball so he's not so obvious?"

"No!" Patamon leaped behind Janet, his head wings fluttering, lifting him into the air a couple feet. "Please Janet, I don't want to be put back in there!"

"It's alright Patamon, it's safe." Janet plucked Patamon from the air and held him. He clung to her dress.

"It might be safe, but it's scary. It's all dark and there are voices!"

"Lewis, maybe pokeballs affect Digimon differently?"

Lewis spread his hands and turned away. "Well, of course they would, wouldn't they? The universe hates us."

"Don't worry Patamon, you can stay out. Unless it seems like you're in a lot of danger, anyway."

"Thanks Janet," said Patamon as he climbed back onto her shoulder.

"You didn't tell us you could fly."

"I can't, at least, not very far or for very long. Walking is faster for me."

"If you say so. Lewis, do I need to bring Vaporeon out?"

He turned back to her, and saw that she was pointing at the campfire, which was still going hot. "Oh, no sweat. Krokorok, over here." Krokorok came swaggering at a sedate pace, crossing its arms when it stood near its trainer. It looked at Patamon and yawned, showing off rows of pointy teeth. "Krokorok, mind digging these embers cold?" Krokorok did so, hunching over and scooping dirt with its claws before nuzzling its snout into the hole. Then, in two swift swipes of its tail, it swept the fire into the hole, and on the return swing buried the ashes with the excavated dirt. It crossed its arms again, and looked at Lewis.

"Good. Excellent." Lewis held out his pokeballs and began returning his Pokémon. "Alright folks, Goldenrod city it is. Let's get a move on before we find ourselves in a dungeon somewhere, or another world, or whatever Virus plans to do with us."

Within Johto—the name of the collection of cities and regions which Lewis and Janet were currently wandering about—cities are connected to one another through a network of paths which are called Routes. This system seems to work for them, and so many other regions use this same system to get from one place to another. Routes are useful in terms of navigation, of course, but because the profession of Pokémon training—as well as similar lifestyles—is meant to take an individual to as many different locations and environments as possible and thus interact with the greatest diversity of Pokémon species, these routes aren't the most efficient method for someone who isn't a Pokémon trainer to reach, say, Cherrygrove City from Blackthorn City, which are separated by lots of woods and steep hills and flea markets. Thus for every route there are two distinct pathways: One for Pokémon trainers, and one for everyone else. The trainer paths are much more meandering, sometimes stopping at forests and at the mouth of caves, which tend to act as proving grounds for brave trainers, and can be made of dirt, gravel, or very cheap asphalt. The real road is paved to allow for vehicle travel and to get over or around woods and mountains. Sometimes these paths blend into one another for one reason or another, and Lewis was wishing that the paths of route 38 did this for his sanity's sake.

His little party trudged along, winding through wooded paths and up and down soft hills, himself in the lead while Janet and Patamon came behind him. His fists had clenched themselves into even tighter fists and he was very careful to keep his eyes on the ground before him. All the while, Janet and Patamon giggled and chatted away as if they weren't being followed at all.

"So you can fill yourself up with air?" said Janet. "And then what?"

"Well, then it comes out like a big bubble, and it knocks stuff down. It's a lot of fun!"

"But, you'd look so silly doing it!"

"I know. That's part of the fun, though."

"Can you imagine me doing that?"

"No! But what would you do that for?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to fight Pokémon. So, I could fight other people."

"But who? Wait, would you do it to Lewis?"

"Knock Lewis down? By burping on him? I wouldn't miss the chance."

They laughed. Lewis closed his eyes and opened them again, his feet stomping extra hard when he walked. Route 38 was gravel for the most part, until it ran into rolling hills of grasslands where it became packed dirt. They were approaching the change.

"Do Pokémon really like being in pokeballs?" said Patamon.

"I hope so. If they don't, they don't say so."

"Where do you get Pokémon from, anyway? Do they come to you and just tell you they're your partners?"

"Oh, no. We have to catch them in the wild, unless they're given to us. Usually a trainer's first Pokémon is given to them, like a gift from their parents or a teacher. Then we use that Pokémon to go out and battle other Pokémon, and then use a pokeball on them."

"That sounds kind of mean, Janet…"

"Maybe… But, the Pokémon we catch become our friends."

"So you have to catch your friends?"

"Yeah. Sometimes, it's like catching a cold, huh Lewis?"

"Right. Consider me stricken sick," said Lewis.

Janet replied, "Where did you get your Pokémon, Lewis?"

Lewis sighed. As the route blended into the dirt path, it came near a lake. From atop the hills they were on, they could see out over it a ways, sparkling in the daylight. Lewis looked at the water, then back to the route. "I got Grovyle when he was a Treeco. He was my first. I caught Furret when I found him trying to take food from me, Sneasel tried to beat me into ice cream, Noibat wouldn't leave me alone when I was in a cave once, and Krokorok, well, she just showed up one day and bit me, and never went away."

"Sounds like you have a magnetic personality," said Janet.

"Or I don't use enough Repel when I'm in the wild."

Patamon climbed down from Janet and stretched. She stopped and looked out at the lake. Patamon said, "What about you Janet? Where did you get your Pokémon?"

"Well, actually, my parents gave me my first Pokémon. That was Dratini. She's very rare and very special, so I didn't train her to battle much. My second Pokémon was given to me by a teacher of mine."

Patamon nodded and began to flap his head wings, sending him into the air where he hovered for a moment, and then plopped back down in the dirt. "What's that like, having parents?"

"Digimon don't have parents?" said Janet.

"No. At least, I don't remember having any. I remember that's kind of a human thing."

"It's awful," said Lewis.

"It's…" said Janet before looking at Lewis. "It can be difficult," she finally said, "To have people older than you that seem to know a lot more than you, but you learn how to manage."

"That seems like it'd help to have someone that knows more than you," said Patamon.

"It would, but sometimes people that know more than you immediately think they know better than you, as well. Wouldn't you agree, Lewis?"

"Probably not, but, forget that right now. Someone's coming."

They froze. Down the road, raising a cloud of dust, two figures approached; one was a person, the other some kind of Pokémon. This, of course, was not the first time someone had come up the path to them. So far they had avoided a hiker, a few youngster trainers, a couple of schoolgirls that looked to be out for blood, and a geeky gawky boy that seemed intent to chase down a Magnemite, which sped away making a lot of frantic beeping sounds. This time, however, there were no trees to hide behind and the grass was far too short. They looked at each other a minute, and Janet pulled out a pokeball.

"Not back inside!" said Patamon.

"Quiet!" said Lewis. "Just, uh, Janet. How deep is your purse?"

"It's not that big of a purse!" said Janet

"We need to hide Patamon somewhere. Uh, how about, in the water? Hurry, let's jump in the water."

"They'll see us!" said Patamon. "Wear me like a hat Janet, they'll think it's part of your style."

"I feel like you're both offending my style right now," said Janet.

Lewis said, "Wait, that's it! Hide in plain sight. Patamon, pretend you're a toy, uh, like a doll."

Patamon froze, legs spread wide, and fell over on his side. He appeared to be holding his breath.

"Not dead, a doll!" said Lewis. "Oh boy, here they come… Janet, just, pick him up, don't look. Look at the lake. Pretend to be enamored or something."

Janet picked up Patamon and looked out at the water. Lewis laid down in the grass of the hill, closing his eyes, pretending to be relaxed. He even put his hands behind his head, which he always saw people do when they wanted to relax, though it always gave his fingers a cramp when he did it. They waited, hearing heavy crunching footsteps.

The footsteps crunched louder until they stopped. Lewis kept his eyes closed, ignoring whatever it was. There was a silence that was uncomfortably full as they all made sure to not look at each other. Something rather big was breathing rather heavily behind Lewis on the road.

Finally a voice said, "Well, are you guys going to battle me or do you think I'm not worth the challenge?"

Lewis took a moment to open his eyes, and stare at the lake, and ran a few colorful scenarios in his head where he ran away into the lake, found a portal to a beach somewhere at the bottom, and sat happily, unbothered, for the rest of his life. Then he turned around, slowly, and looked at the newcomer.

A boy just breaking through into his teenage years was standing at the edge of the road looking down on them, hands on his hips, wearing a tactful outfit of khakis and dark brown. His jacket had at least half a dozen zippers and his cargo shorts had about the same amount of pockets. A leather satchel was slung over one shoulder and a pair of headphones were around his neck, a thin cord snaking into one of the pockets on his jacket. His hair was short and threatening a dirty shade of blond, while his eyes were dancing brown as he stared a challenge at them. Beside him was a reptilian bipedal Pokémon of a dark charcoal color and blue stripes on its tail, ankles, wrists, neck, and upon the bulging dome on its head, which was flanked by spikes. It peered out at them with narrow red eyes.

Lewis looked at Janet, who had also turned to see the trainer. She had her hands over Patamon's face, who appeared to have gone limp.

"We're not trainers," said Lewis.

"No fooling?" said the boy. "You've got Pokémon, though. Don't worry, I'd go easy on you, a friendly spar is just what I've been looking for the past couple days."

"We're not trainers," said Janet. "Sorry, but what kind of Pokémon is that?"

"What, Rampardos here?" He grinned, which took up the majority of his face as he patted Rampardos' shoulder. "It's a fossil Pokémon. A lean, mean, knock-em-down machine. Well, maybe not as lean as he could be, but, I love him just the same." He stepped closer to Lewis and stuck out his hand. Lewis kept his hands behind his head, staring at the boy. "Name's Big Sur, and you can believe me or not. Pokémon trainer, soon to be Pokémon Ranger, and probably one of the only people crazy enough to have a team of only fossil type Pokémon."

Janet stepped forward to take Big Sur's hand. "I'm Janet. This is Lewis. I'm a Pokémon healer, and he's… well, we're just passing through."

"I'm her patient," said Lewis.

Big Sur laughed, which was such a natural sound coming from the short boy that Janet found herself smiling as well. "So is he your Pokémon, then? No offense to you, but I don't think you trained him very well."

Lewis sighed and sat up amidst more laughter. _They come to me, they all come to me… how do they find me?_

"And what about that?" said Big Sur, pointing at Janet's arms. She looked down, and Patamon quickly went limp again.

"Oh, uh, well…"

"Looks like one sick Pikachu to me. What happened to its ears? And where's its tail?"

Lewis stood up. "We got lost for a while and ran out of food. We drew straws and decided that Pikachu's tail would have to go."

Big Sur laughed again, though his eyes still seemed puzzled. Laughter was apparently just a natural reaction to the world around him. "Well, wait a minute, I've never seen a Pikachu with blue eyes before."

"Seen a lot of Pikachus, have you?" said Lewis. "And you said you're a Pokémon ranger? I thought rangers could only have one Pokémon."

"Ranger slash trainer. I'm also a drummer."

"So a musician, too. We're truly basking in some immense wealth of talent, then."

Big Sur grinned. "Stick around, maybe some will rub off on you."

Janet laughed. Then Patamon laughed. Janet stopped laughing and hugged him tighter, choking him off.

"You know," said Big Sur. "You all seem like you're kind of intense. Like, something secret's going on."

Lewis said, "Well, if that's the case, you'd be considered pretty polite if you were to scram, huh?"

Janet whirled on him, "Lewis!"

Big Sur Laughed. "Ha! No he's right, sorry, not any of my business. But, you won't mind if I scan your, uh, Pikachu, with a Pokedex, will you?"

"Actually," said Janet, "Lewis, we had planned to do that, too." Lewis rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"My pa says that discovery is something to be shared." Big Sur reached into a pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out a red little square device that fit in his hand. He opened a cover and pushed some buttons inside it. A lens was set on the front, which he aimed at Patamon.

"Talk about fossils," said Lewis. "That's gotta be an original model Pokedex."

"I figure, hey, why not go all the way, right? Now, let's see here…"

Patamon cringed in Janet's arms while she tried to pet his face to soothe him. He blinked his big blue eyes at Big Sur's device, and flapped his head wings twice. An important aspect of the Pokedex which most trainers are familiar with is that the Pokedex contains a record of all Pokémon which have been registered to a central database. However, there are some Pokémon which are not registered with this database, but are still known to exist either through folklore or mythology. Creatures such as the legendary bird Pokémon Ho-oh, which is only known to appear every century, half century, or whenever certain unreliable but scrappy sports teams win their seasons, are well known to savvy trainers, but pull a blank on the Pokedex.

At first, this seemed to be the case for Patamon. "Unknown data," intoned the mechanical voice of the Pokedex.

Big Sur's face lit up. "Oh gosh, this is incredible! A legendary Pokémon that I've never even heard of!"

"Gotta wonder what makes it legendary, then," said Lewis.

Then, the Pokedex made another noise. If the Pokedex were a human, it would have been coughing. It clicked, buzzed, beeped, and said again, "Unkown data. Some Pokémon have never some Pokémon have never some never never Pokémon unknown data Pokémon data."

"Uh, Big Sur?" said Janet. "Maybe you should put it away." She had backed up a step as Patamon squirmed to hide from the Pokedex.

"I've never seen this happen before," said Big Sur. He was now just staring at his Pokedex. He closed the cover and tried to shut it off, but the device continued to make distressed little noises, and it continued speaking.

"Unkown drrrrrrrr daaaaaaaaa some Pokémon have have have have have missing data there are there are many Pokémon that have have drrrrrrrrrr missing missing missing number data Pokémon mon mon missing number num missing number missing number missing number numberrrrrrr." Finally the screen went dead and the voice stopped. It came back on as it rebooted and refreshed.

Big Sur looked at Patamon, who stared back fearfully, hunched in Janet's arms. He licked his lips, and slipped his Pokedex into his pocket again. "There's a legend," he said, "That some Pokémon trainers have encountered creatures that were called the Missing Numbers. Sometimes they even looked like Pokémon themselves. But, while they were extremely powerful, they were unstable. According to the legend, they would disintegrate completely when put in the Pokémon storage system, never to return." He looked at Janet. "Where did you find it?"

Lewis stepped in front of Big Sur. "Cut that out, would you? Whatever that is, it's not a Missing Number. I've heard the legend, too, and that's all it is. It's a campfire story, something to scare little kids, Big Sur."

"Then you want to tell me what that thing is? Because it ain't no Pikachu, and whatever it is it could be dangerous."

There was a moment of stunned silence, Lewis staring down Big Sur staring down Patamon, who stared up at Janet. Janet finally nodded. "It's okay," she said. "I think we can trust him."

"Janet!" said Lewis.

"Please, Lewis, he's not working for Virus. Go ahead Patamon."

Patamon looked up at her, then at Big Sur. "What's a Pikachu?"

The grass parted. A few small Pokémon pranced away from the massive shape which emerged from the thicket of trees. Metal gleamed, green and drab cream. It took a heavy step, and then another, its sensors detecting nearby prey. Circuits buzzed and snapped, and hydraulics hissed as they pushed and pulled. It was closing in, coming down from the top of a hill. Ahead there was water, a blue lake that stretched out from the roadway. Before that, there were three adolescents and one Pokémon, in addition to the quarry. One of the humans was jumping up and down, making bizarre noises and pointing at the other humans. Soon, its voice was within audible range.

"You don't have any idea what this means!" said Big Sur. "This is beyond us, beyond what anything we've ever seen before encompasses! It… oh, by the bones, it's a miracle!"

"I don't feel all that miraculous," said Patamon. He had crawled up on Janet's shoulder to avoid Big Sur waving his arms about. "I don't even think I'm all that different to Pokémon, I can just talk."

Lewis was lying on the ground. This wasn't his decision, but rather the decision of Rampardos, who had knocked him there and proceeded to sit on him. "Big Sur, can you get this prehistoric lard off of me?"

"You shouldn't have tried to touch me, Rampardos gets very protective. Rampy, let him up."

"You shouldn't have tried to touch Patamon."

Janet said, "Look, we know that what we're dealing with here is something that no one's ever seen before, it might even be dangerous. Just, keep calm, both of you."

Lewis grunted, "I'm being forced to remain calm."

"Rampy, up!" Said Big Sur. Rampardos did so, and Lewis scrambled to his feet.

"You think I'm dangerous, Janet?" said Patamon. He climbed down from Janet and stood before her on the ground, looking up.

"Patamon, I don't think you're dangerous yourself. But whatever it is about you that Virus wants, it has to be bad. Those guys… they were not nice, you understand? Patamon?"

Patamon had turned around and looked off the path up the hill rising behind them.

Big Sur came near and crouched low. "Listen, Patamon, Digimon could be the next step for people and Pokémon. I have no idea what it means, but, I want to find out. This Virus group, whoever they are, if they're planning on doing something bad with you, maybe we can stop it and actually learn from you instead. That's all I really want. If you are a Missing Number, or maybe something beyond that, then we might be able to… what are you looking at?"

"We've got trouble," said Lewis. He was looking up the hill as well, a pokeball in his hand.

They all turned to look. Standing at the top of the hill, hunched over with its hands on the ground, was a being made of metal. In any case, it was mostly metal, colored green and some pale shade of flesh, with bits of some substance that could have been skin and fur pressing through gaps in its armor plating. Its head was obscured in a small helmet with antennae poking out of it. On each arm, long tubes were attached which blended into the metal plating. Its legs were bulky and powerful looking, wires popping out and running the length of its limbs. It stared at them through tiny dark sockets where eyes should go in its helmet.

"Friend of yours?" said Lewis.

Big Sur shook his head as his Rampardos stood between him and the contraption, growling. "Not likely. That, uh, that is not anyone's friend, I'd guess."

The thing took a thunderous step closer, rising up to its full height. It was at least eight feet tall. Steam billowed out of the tubes on its arms. A voice came out of it, broadcasting to those below. The voice was mechanical like the Pokedex's while remaining fluid and uncompromised, and surprisingly high in pitch. "Human children. I am Trojan model Alpha Four. You are identified as those that interfered with the active duties of two Virus agents and sabotaged their work. In this process you have taken from them an asset which belongs to Virus and which I have been programmed to find and return. These coordinates have been transmitted to Virus headquarters, as well as all sensory input from here on out. You are asked to please relinquish the stolen property now. Afterward, you may leave otherwise intact. I also am to inform you that if you show promising talent, Virus may have use for you and you will be contacted by an Agent later."

Janet stepped in front of Patamon, who crouched on the ground. "No chance I'm letting that thing take Patamon. Pokémon aren't property, and neither are Digimon."

"I'm with you there," said Big Sur. "That thing's the most important scientific discovery of the century."

"I'd argue semantics with you as to Patamon's importance, but I think I'll save it for later."

Lewis looked up at the Trojan, who was still lumbering down the grassy slope, raising its arms now to aim the tubes mounted there at them all. He turned the pokeball in his hand, and weighed his chances.

Before he could decide, Big Sur called out, "Rampardos, go!"

Rampardos gave a shrieking battlecry and charged. Running straight up the hill didn't even seem to slow it down as it lowered its domed head and plowed into the leg of the Trojan. The Trojan dropped to one knee, and swiped at Rampardos with an arm, knocking the Pokémon to the side. Its other arm aimed down at the kids and a ball of blue energy shot out of the tube, careening down until it exploded in the dirt path behind Lewis and Big Sur.

Big Sur fell over, the contents of his satchel falling out. He looked up to the battle above them. "Rampardos!"

Janet aimed a pokeball. "Flaaffy! Blast it!" A sheep shaped Pokémon emerged from the pokeball's light, with a pink body and fluffy white fur on its head and around its neck. Its tail was elongated and had a blue sphere at the end, which crackled with electricity. Its ears stuck out from its head like cones, and between these an arc of electric energy sprung over its head. The arc reached out and touched the Trojan, which made a pained groan. Rampardos was back up and rammed into the side of the Trojan once more, and it rolled down the rest of the hill until it came to rest on the dirt road.

It raised itself to its feet with frightening speed, and aimed its arm at Janet. Blue light glowed within the dark tube mounted above its wrist. "Stand aside, human. Target is to be weakened before extraction."

A green blur leapt out and struck the Trojan in its head, and then its antennae were laying on the dirt. Grovyle landed on its feet and looked back. The Trojan had turned its gun on the new target.

"Rampardos, use screech!" shouted Big Sur.

Rampardos jumped in front of Grovyle and opened its mouth. A tinny, head-splitting sound emitted from it, aimed up at the Trojan. The Trojan froze in the blast, seemingly paralyzed.

"Flaaffy, thundershock while it's distracted!"

Flaaffy complied, another blast of electricity striking the Trojan in the back. It whirled around, and fired the weapon on its arm. A blast of energy shot out and hit the ground between Flaaffy and Janet, sending both of them backward. Patamon went into the air, and began flapping his head wings until he was aimed at the Trojan. He sucked in air in a swift gulp, his body inflating like a balloon, and then released it. The air shot forward in a supersonic bubble, which struck the Trojan in its head. The Trojan reeled backward a step, and then it aimed its other arm.

The blast took Patamon with its full force. Patamon fell out of the air and onto the grass beside the road, motionless. The Trojan moved forward swiftly, reaching a hand out to scoop him up. As it crouched over, Rampardos charged, and collided with the contraption with such force that they both went over and down the slope leading to the lake. As they rolled, Rampardos slammed his rocky head into the machine over and over, chipping away at its armor. Finally, just as they were about to fall into the lake, Rampardos gave a swift kick and pushed the Trojan into the water. It struck the surface with a great splash, and there it sank.

Big Sur rushed forward, calling for his Pokémon. Lewis found his own and crouched over Grovyle, who peered up at Lewis. Lewis began scooping up Big Sur's belongings and putting them back in his bag. "Janet!" he called. "Janet?"

"I'm here," said Janet. She was lying in the grass. She rubbed at her arm, moving it around in its socket and rolling her jaw side to side. "I think I'm okay, I just sprained my arm."

"You might want to find Patamon, then."

"What happened? Did… oh, no!" Janet stood up and ran over to the inert form of Patamon. A slight limp in her step suggested more than a sprained arm, but she ignored it and set to work wrapping Patamon in a blanket and popping Aromatisse from its pokeball.

Big Sur came back up the hill next to his Rampardos. "Whatever that thing was, I don't think it can get out of the water. That, or Rampardos really messed it up, or your Grovyle snapped its link to whatever was powering it. Or a hundred other things, the worst of which could be that it's repairing itself."

Lewis nodded and put Grovyle back in his pokeball. "Well, if your entire team is as good as Rampardos, I think we'll be able to keep it down for good next time it shows up."

"Rampardos is my best guy, but I guess we'll just have to see. How's Patamon, Janet?"

"He's alive," she said. "Which is as good as I can do right now. I'm just not sure which medicines he needs."

"Pokémon center, then," said Big Sur.

"It doesn't work," said Lewis. "We already tried."

"Potion?"

Janet shook her head and began rubbing an ointment on Patamon's burns. "It only had a slight effect on Patamon before. I think the compounds within potion are too refined, or maybe too diluted? I don't know. The thing is, I can try to do as much for Patamon as I can, but it's not going to matter if Virus agents show up soon. The Trojan said it was connected to the Virus headquarters. They'll know where we are."

"And that means they know to look for me, too," said Big Sur.

"Welcome to the club," said Lewis. "She's right though, we need to get out of here."

Their Pokémon returned to their pokeballs. Janet carefully carried Patamon in her arms. Lewis handed Big Sur his satchel back. They proceeded to walk away from the bubbling waters, casting glances at the spot in the lake where the Trojan had fallen in until it was out of sight.


End file.
